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METRO VANCOUVER — Surrey Memorial Hospital’s emergency department will not return to full service for at least two weeks while cleanup of Monday’s flood continues, a Fraser Health spokesman said Tuesday.

Roy Thorpe-Dorward said parts of the ER — closed Monday afternoon when a water main break sent water gushing into the facility — could open sooner, but he doesn’t have a timeline for that to happen.

“There’s the potential to incrementally open for sure, both in diagnostic imaging (which is located next door to the ER) and the actual emergency department as it becomes available,” said Thorpe-Dorward, as health officials worked to divert hundreds of patients to other hospitals.

As well, a temporary urgent care space and a medical mobile unit have been set up at the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre at 9750 140th Street near Fraser Highway in Surrey.

The mobile unit can accommodate six to eight patients with problems ranging from minor to critical emergencies such as heart attacks.

A legacy from the 2010 Olympics, the unit has been used 17 times since the Games, but this is the first time it’s been deployed during an emergency.

Thorpe-Dorward said four doctors from Surrey Memorial were transferred to the 24-hour urgent care centre. Overnight Monday, they treated 25 patients transferred from Surrey Memorial, but there were no critical medical emergencies during that time.

Fraser Health also said Tuesday that elective procedures will be postponed, dialysis patients will be directed to other renal care services for the next day or two, portable X-ray and ultrasound equipment will be available for urgent cases, and surgery and other ambulatory procedures will be increased at the hospital over the next couple of days.

Water has been reconnected at full pressure at the hospital and is safe to drink and use.

“We recognize that closing one of the busiest emergency departments in the province will have a significant impact on our other sites,” Fraser Health said in a release.

“Emergency volumes vary from site to site and we will continue to direct patients to where there is capacity while maintaining a constant dialogue with all of our sites. Our emergency preparedness is being tested and we are very proud of the way our staff across the region, as well as all of our partners, have really stepped up to the challenge.”

Crews have been working around the clock, Thorpe-Dorward said, to mop up the water that was knee-deep in some areas of the emergency room. He said it will take days to dry out the area, before the restoration work can begin.

Crews were taking inventory of the medical equipment damaged in the flood, but Thorpe-Dorward did not have an estimate of the cost of replacing it.

He said it is too early to say who was at fault, but that the flood was caused by excavation work in the north lobby expansion.

“During the excavation the main line was ruptured, so we are going to try and find out how that happened.”

Meanwhile, patients were being reminded to call 911 if there is a medical emergency. Those in critical condition are being taken to other Fraser Health hospitals with fully staffed emergency rooms, including Peace Arch, Royal Columbian, Burnaby, Langley Memorial and Abbotsford Regional.

“They’re noticing increased traffic to the emergency departments,” said Thorpe-Dorward. “The impact at Peace Arch has been significant.

“(But) they are managing OK and we’re bringing in support as necessary.”

Thorpe-Dorward said one hospital that hasn’t been affected is Vancouver General, which is part of Vancouver Coastal Health.

He said three patients were transferred to VGH when the flood happened, but none since. “We haven’t had to draw upon that yet.”

The ER at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster was quiet Tuesday morning.

Fewer than half a dozen patients were in the waiting room and there was no queue at the admitting desk.

“There has been an increase in volume at other hospitals but it has been manageable,” said Tasleem Juma, a spokeswoman for Fraser Health.

She said some staff members from Surrey Memorial are working at other hospitals to help out with the overflow but did not know how many doctors and nurses were being sent to other emergency rooms.

B.C. Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid released a statement thanking health care professionals, administrators, contractors and others for their quick response to the emergency.

“It is because of their quick work and the preparedness of our system that the health and safety of patients was maintained,” she said.

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Flooded Surrey hospital ER won't return to full service for at least two weeks: Fraser Health (with video)

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